Buckingham Palace shudders at prospect of more of
Prince Harry’s truth
Past royal efforts are tame in comparison to what Duke
of Sussex could unleash on his family
Caroline
Davies
Tue 20 Jul
2021 14.39 BST
Queen
Victoria did it, as did a couple of her granddaughters. And her great-grandson,
the Duke of Windsor, famously did so 15 years after his abdication.
So, the
Duke of Sussex follows a well-trodden royal path with news that he is penning
his “accurate and wholly truthful” memoirs, writing “not as the prince I was
born but as the man I have become”.
As
shudders, no doubt, convulse Buckingham Palace, the book has a planned
publication date in autumn 2022, perfectly timed for the Christmas market, but
perhaps not the finale the Queen would have hoped for her platinum jubilee
celebrations.
Past royal
memoirs are tame in comparison to what Prince Harry could unleash on his
family, if his soul-baring screen interviews with Oprah Winfrey are a
yardstick.
His efforts
are unlikely to compare with Queen Victoria’s published journals, which were by
no means scandalous, though she was dissuaded from writing a book about John
Brown, the Scottish ghillie and personal attendant to whom she became close in
widowhood.
Victoria’s
granddaughters, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, and Princess Marie-Louise,
as well as Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, widow of the Queen’s cousin
Prince Henry, all produced “terribly interesting” accounts of royal life, said
the royal historian Hugo Vickers, though all non-controversial.
Harry’s
musings can best be compared to those of the exiled Duke of Windsor; A King’s
Story, published in 1951, and an international bestseller still available on
Amazon. His wife, Wallis Simpson, also took up the pen.
“The Duke
of Windsor’s was not terribly revelatory or scandalous,” said Vickers, adding
that it was beautifully ghostwritten. “I don’t think his or the duchess’s
caused any more ructions that you would imagine they would.”
Simpson
consulted her former husband when writing her memoirs, though he never wrote
his own. “He said: ‘As far as I’m concerned the truth lies at the bottom of the
well and anyone who wants to go and look for it is welcome to do so.’ So he did
not write anything at all, or ever tell his story,” said Vickers.
Though not
especially revelatory, the Duke of Windsor’s account was frowned on given that
his mother, Queen Mary, and brother, George VI, were still alive. “By today’s
standards it might be regarded as pretty tame,” said Joe Little, managing
editor of Majesty magazine. “But 70 years ago, it was seen as all quite
shocking, disrespectful and treacherous. I think he saw it as his opportunity
to settle scores and did so.”
With Harry
reportedly working with the Pulitzer-winning ghostwriter JR Moehringer and the
deadline for a first draft rumoured to be in October, its contents are the
subject of much speculation, though experts believe that he will be under
pressure to up the ante.
“The
pressure must be on him to come up with something even more sensational that
what we learned from the Oprah interview,” said Little. “It’s hard not to think
that Harry would want to redress the balance, as far as he’s concerned, in
print, though it’s been done on screen.
“You would
think hearts will continue to sink at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and
Kensington Palace. I suppose in an ideal world they would have liked a line to
be drawn after the Oprah revelations. But clearly that isn’t Harry’s way of
doing things. And so this won’t have been great news for Harry’s family.”
He could
revisit the racism allegations he has levelled against the royal household.
“Then there’s Meghan’s arrival into the spotlight, her becoming girlfriend,
then fiancee, then bride. And, of course, he has a lot of demons still about
his childhood and the treatment his mother got both at the hand of the
establishment and the media. Also, having to leave the army much sooner that he
would have liked might also manifest itself.”
Little
added: “You would think it is going to be quite a troubled read in a way. You
would hope that by the end of it there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
He’s been in North America now for 15 months or so, so clearly he feels he’s
turned a corner.”
Sarah,
Duchess of York, was fiercely criticised when she wrote My Story, detailing her
experience at the hands of the press and the breakdown of her marriage to
Prince Andrew. She was accused of cashing in on her royal connections. Harry’s
publisher, Penguin Random House, have said proceeds are going to charity.
For the
Duke of Windsor, his memoirs brought him back into the spotlight after years of
relative obscurity. And, as with any memoir, there are different versions of
the story.
So, as Buckingham
Palace awaits Harry’s book, it will no doubt think back to the Queen’s
diplomatic words following the Oprah revelations, when she said: “Some
recollections may vary.”
Prince Harry 'says he DOESN'T need Queen's permission'
to write $20m Megxit memoir as Royal aides fear more 'truth bombs' and 'poor me
introspection' in tell-all 'book by Harry, written by Meghan'
- Prince Harry has been secretly working on book for nearly year which he has sold to Penguin Random House
- He has been collaborating with a ghostwriter in a rare move from a senior member of the royal family
- First draft of manuscript, currently untitled, is said to be almost completely written with deadline in October
- Financial terms were not disclosed but Prince Harry will donate proceeds to charity, according to publisher
- But sources told DailyMail.com that the advance is likely to be in the region of $20m, one of the biggest ever
By MARTIN
ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE and REBECCA ENGLISH, ROYAL EDITOR, FOR
THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED:
07:55 BST, 20 July 2021 | UPDATED: 09:51 BST, 21 July 2021
Prince Harry
didn't feel he needed permission from Buckingham Palace to write his $20million
Megxit memoir, his spokesman declared today.
The
decision to write a tell-all autobiography has been branded a 'moneymaking
exercise at the expense of his blood family' by royal experts and insiders who
predicted it would be 'a book by Harry, as written by Meghan.'
Harry, 36,
did not warn his grandmother, father or brother about the tell-all book until
'moments before it became public' in a sign that his relationship with the
Royal Family did not improve during his visit to unveil Princess Diana's statue
in London earlier this month, it was claimed today.
The
Sussexes' spokesman told the BBC that Harry would not be expected to obtain
permission for the project from Buckingham Palace - but told his family
including the Queen 'very recently' - and it is not yet clear if royal
officials will get to see the finished book before its release in late 2022 by
publisher Penguin Random House. MailOnline has asked Harry's LA team to
comment.
Harry said
last night: 'I'm writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I
have become'. Responding to his bombshell statement signed 'Prince Harry, Duke
of Sussex', broadcaster Kirstie Allsopp replied: 'In which case stop using the
title to sell books' and one royal insider said tartly: 'A book by Harry, as
written by Meghan.'
In his
latest column for MailOnline, Piers Morgan today urged the Queen to strip Harry
and Meghan of all their titles, calling the book a betrayal too far and
accusing them of turning Her Majesty's world-famous motto of 'never complain,
never explain' into 'always complain, always explain, never stop whining'.
The Queen,
Prince Charles and Prince William are said to have been completely blindsided
by Harry's shock announcement that he has been secretly working on his as yet
untitled memoirs with Pulitzer-winning ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer for a year.
Another
source revealed that the announcement had provoked 'much eye-rolling', adding:
'I think everyone is just tired of being angry when it comes to those two. They
have spent the last 18 months doing everything they promised Her Majesty they
wouldn't do – making a living off their previous lives and status as members of
the Royal Family. It's depressingly predictable, unfortunately.'
The Duke
and Duchess of Sussex's 'truth bombing' began in March with their extraordinary
90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey where they accused the Royal Family of
racism towards Archie and ignoring cries for help from a depressed Meghan when
she was suicidal and pregnant.
In the
chaotic aftermath of the show, watched by almost 100million people worldwide,
the couple claimed this would be their 'final word' on Megxit, only to continue
talking about it in more damaging detail over the coming months.
And now the
royals will be dreading the release of the book next year, which experts
predict will be 'more 'poor me' introspection and more excuses to justify his
decision to quit royal life' and 'the last thing the Queen, Prince Charles and
Prince William will want to hear'.
Royal
author Phil Dampier wrote in the Express today: 'They will be in despair that
Harry - doubtless prompted by Meghan - just won't leave it alone for a
while. It is obvious that when Harry
came over for the unveiling of Diana's statue earlier this month, no meaningful
progress was made in his relationship with his father or brother. If he
respected their opinion, he wouldn't do this book because they wouldn't approve
of it.
'Harry
wants to present himself as a mature family man who has learnt from his
mistakes and become a wise old sage. But I fear many other people will see this
as yet another moneymaking exercise at the expense of his blood family'.
Harry's
biographer Angela Levin said: 'I feel he risks looking like a traitor to the
Royal Family. I don't believe it's going to be all honey and sweetness, I think
he's going to smash again. I don't know why, does he want to destroy his
family? Does he feel so revengeful that he has to take yet another knock after
Oprah and after Finding Freedom.
'I don't
quite get it, why he doesn't want to move on, enjoy his life, he's making pots
of money. He's in love with his wife, he's got two children, a girl and a boy.
But why is he so negative about his past, he can't leave it alone. It's like a
cat or dog, tearing at something to destroy it.'(…)
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